An American photographer came to South Korea for the first time in 1986 at the age of 33. It was a time prior to the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, when interest in traveling to South Korea grew. At first, foreign visitors to Korea mostly took tourist photos of Jeju-do Island. Then when the pro-democracy movements intensified, the streets where students and citizens shouted, "Out with the dictator" became the topic of interest for the foreign press. When the year 1987 came along, the American photographer also began walking down the streets of Seoul. The first day he visited the gates of Yonsei University in Seoul, a stage for frequent student demonstrations, he breathed in tear gas and could not take a single picture. "Get a gas mask near the U.S. military base and then come here." At the advice of his fellow reporters, he bought and wore the gas masks and visited Yonsei University every day.

Kim Newton Standing Before That Picture from That Time: Kim Newton, a professor of the University of Arizona, who had covered the pro-democracy movements as a foreign press photographer at the time of the June Democracy Movement in 1987, describes a photograph that he took thirty years ago at a special exhibition on the 30th anniversary of the death of Lee Han-Yeol, currently on display at the Yonsei University Centennial Hall in Seoul on June 9. Yi Jun-heon

This is the story of Kim Newton (64), now a professor of journalism at the University of Arizona, who had covered the June Democracy Movement as a freelance photographer in his thirties. He returned to Korea on the 30th anniversary of the June struggle.

From June 9 to 10, he took part in all the events related to the June Democracy Movement including the memorial of Lee Han-yeol at Yonsei University. During the memorial for Lee held at Seoul Plaza on June 9, just as he had thirty years ago, Newton captured the image of Yi Ae-ju, formerly a professor at Seoul National University, dancing the Salpuri dance splitting the bier and the hemp cloth for Lee entering the plaza. He said that his visit to South Korea after thirty years was "an extension of the coverage he started in 1987."

Thirty years ago on June 9, when Lee Han-yeol fell at the tear gas shot by the police, Newton was also at the gates of Yonsei University. In those days, photographers often took pictures standing on the tracks running along an overpass across from the main gate of Yonsei University. No one knows who came up with the name, but the foreign reporters all called this place “Yonsei Beach.” Newton recalled, "I think they came up with the name because the image of the students swarming to the main gate and standing in confrontation with the riot police and then heading back inside the school when the police shot the tear gas was similar to the waves coming in and going out."

The foreign reporters were also surprised when Lee Han-yeol collapsed after being shot with tear gas. Newton said, "That summer, the police had arrested a great number of students, but no one had died. It really seemed like a big incident."

Kim Newton, who covered the pro-democracy demonstrations as a foreign press photographer at the time of the June Democracy Movement in 1987, visited South Korea after thirty years and shared pictures he took at the time with the Kyunghyang Shinmun. A woman, who took part in the pro-democracy demonstration wearing a mask because of the tear gas, is being arrested by the police (top photo). Citizens shouting to overthrow the dictatorship clashes with the riot police holding shields. Courtesy of Kim Newton. Copyright Kim Newton. Any usage of these photos requires the permission of Kim Newton.

On July 8, the eve of Lee's funeral, Newton captured an image of two students standing before the riot police with their shields. One student holding the picture of Lee with both hands, and the other firmly grasping the flagpole with the Taegeukgi were captured on film. Later, the young man carrying the picture became a lawmaker (Woo Sang-ho of the Minjoo Party of Korea) and the man holding the Taegeukgi became an actor (Woo Hyeon).

Newton met with President Moon Jae-in and offered this picture as a gift to the president at the ceremony commemorating the June 10 Movement in Seoul Plaza on June 10. He also delivered a letter including his thoughts over the past thirty years on the June pro-democracy movement.

Newton left South Korea in 1988, after witnessing former President Roh Tae-woo win in the direct presidential election, earned by the June pro-democracy movements.

He said, "The foreign journalists thought that former President Kim Dae-jung was a special leader. I thought he would become president." Since then, he worked as a photojournalist for over twenty years working as a photo editor of international news at Reuters London and at Knight Ridder/Tribune.

It was the MBC production team of a documentary for the 30th anniversary of the June Democracy Movement that called Newton, who had returned to his alma mater as a professor in 2007, back to South Korea. The team planned to take a look at the past thirty years of pro-democracy movements from the pro-democracy movements that June to the latest candlelight demonstrations demanding the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye from the eyes of an outsider.

Newton, who had participated in anti-war demonstrations during the Vietnam War in high school and had been at demonstration sites throughout the world while working as a photographer, welcomed the team's request for him to host the documentary and returned to South Korea early last March. For him, Korea had changed into a completely different place. He said, "When I think of the police of 1987, dressed like Darth Vader in Star Wars, I might even say that the police uniform now is sophisticated."

That Picture from That Time: Kim Newton, a professor at the University of Arizona who covered the pro-democracy demonstrations as a foreign press photographer at the time of the June Democracy Movement in 1987, attends a ceremony commemorating the pro-democracy movement at Seoul Plaza on June 10 and shows a picture he took before offering the photo as a gift to President Moon Jae-in. The picture in the frame shows the sad faces of Woo Sang-ho (holding the picture of Lee, currently a lawmaker of the Minjoo Party of Korea), president of the Yonsei University Student Council, and Woo Hyeon (holding the Taegeukgi, currently an actor), the social director of the Yonsei University Student Council. / Cheong Wa Dae press photographers

"The candlelight demonstrations seemed more like a festival than a demonstration," Newton said. Last March, when the nation was deep in the process of an impeachment, he spent ten days in Korea and took pictures of the Taegeukgi demonstrations against the impeachment during the day and captured images of the candlelight demonstrations calling for impeachment at night. On the day of the impeachment ruling, he was in front of the Constitutional Court. "Thirty years ago, people came out on the streets and talked about changing the Constitution, and the latest impeachment showed that that Constitution had been properly functioning as a system for thirty years," said Newton.

During his stay in Korea, Newton visited sites symbolic of the pro-democracy movements including Gwanghwamun, Myeongdong Cathedral and Yonsei University as well as Seoul Plaza and spoke on democracy and Korea's past 30 years and journalism. This was all caught on film, but the documentary on the 30th anniversary of the June Democratic Uprising could not be aired even after June 10. The MBC chapter of the National Union of Mediaworkers argued that MBC executives suspended the production of the documentary.

A group of high school students who took part in the ceremony commemorating the pro-democracy movements of June 1987 held at Seoul Plaza on June 10 gathered around Newton and asked him why he was in Korea. Newton said that describing his experience to these students was the best time he had had during the latest visit.

"I heard from lawmaker Woo Sang-ho that many people who took part in the pro-democracy movements couldn't get a job and had to suffer hard times afterwards. I learned today that the efforts of the people who sacrificed to bring democracy into this society in the 1980s were made for the next generation like these students."

Newton, who witnessed the June Democracy Movement, the 1987 presidential election, the candlelight demonstrations and the impeachment of former President Park all on site, said it was a great honor as a journalist. On June 11, after finishing all his work in Korea, he left for a city in Italy where he teaches a summer class. He plans to return to Korea next June.